Girls from Kuwait empowered on business
creation
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba
 |
| Workshop facilitator talks to the press |
Some frustrated Cameroonian girls who are
victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery from Kuwait, Lebanon and
other Middle East countries have been drilled on entrepreneurship and how to
start up small businesses. The training was offered by the Committee for the
Fight against Human Trafficking and Child Abuse (COMATHRA). This was in a two
seminar organized on 2 and 3 September 2016, at the Kumba City council Hall,
under the theme: "Discovering Practical Business Skill Training".
The
two-day seminar which was jointly funded by USA-based NGO, Freedom For All, the
Pan African Organization for Research and Protection of Violence on Women and
Children and the Committee to Fight against Human Trafficking and Child Abuse
(COMATHRA) was facilitated by a Ghanaian based Cameroonian, Dr. Ndongwie Peter,
with Mrs. Mbonjuh Cynthia as co-facilitator.
According
to the facilitator, Dr. Ndongwie, the main objective of the seminar is to wipe
out the fear from the girls and bring out the talent hidden in them so they can
become successful business entrepreneurs in the future.
According
to the president of COMATHRA, Larry EsongAkang, the two day seminar brings
together victims of human trafficking across the national territory. During the
seminar the girls were drilled on such themes like: choosing the right business
and creating and financing a business among others. Despite their sundry
expectations the victims expressed fear of competitors, challenges of demand
and supply, fear of not being successful, fear of collapse of business, fear of
business proposal not being funded etc.
However,
the facilitator Dr. Ndongwie put smiles on the faces of the victims as he
challenged them to begin from the little neglected opportunities around them.
He revealed that little things neglected by the girls are the things that may
eventually make them great.
He
said the huge sums of money that was spent by the girls to travel out to Asia
could be used as start up capital.
Dr.
Ndongwie said poverty, peer influence and travel agencies are seen as a major
push factor that fuels the desire for young girls to go abroad. He urged the
girls to use the knowledge gained during the seminar and become ambassadors to
discourage their peers who are still nursing the hope of going to Kuwait.
On
her part, the co-facilitator, Mbonjuh Cynthia said the seminar will not impose
options to the girls but exploit the potentials within them and teach them how
to run small business that they may start up.
In an interview with one of the victims
from Kuwait by name EbangaLilian, she recounted the horrible and pathetic
scenes they went through after being persuaded to travel by his pastor. She
revealed ugly scenes ranging from prolonged working hours, poor accommodation
of victims, beating as well as repeated sexual harassment.
The
facilitators promised to meet with stakeholder government departments such as
the Prime minister, Foreign affairs minister, Delegate general of national
security and the minister of women's empowerment and the family to let them
know the main reasons that pushes Cameroonian girls out for greener pastures
and how they can join hands to reduce the rate of human trafficking among
Cameroonian girls.
No comments:
Post a Comment